Young gun (Best under 40)

Steven K. McCallister Shanahan Law Group PLLC, Raleigh

I’d probably be a professor, an interest I indulge by teaching intro to criminal law at N.C. State University. But I’m also interested in business, technology, science and entrepreneurship, so I might be an executive at a technology company or a nonprofit.

Vita:Born Jan. 29, 1972, in Durban, South Africa; bachelor’s from Appalachian State University and law degree from Wake Forest University; wife and daughter. Specialty: Litigation.Why he chose this field: I like to help people fix problems and enjoy the intellectual stimulation, variety and problem-solving challenges.Memorable cases:Getting an $8 million judgment against a middle-school teacher who raped a student, winning an appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court on behalf of a retired sheriff’s deputy whose benefits were improperly threatened by the government and winning an appeal on behalf of two employees who were improperly disciplined at the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. I enjoy correcting abuses of power. Passions: Family and friends, travel, The New Yorker, documentaries, kiva.org microfinance, stand-up and improv comedy, books and shows about science and cosmology, vegetarian food. Favorite books:Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers.Favorite places:New York and Paris. Hero:Mahatma Ghandi. Don’t ask him to:Lie.